That is a tough way to lose a hockey game. Final Score: 2-1 Ducks in OT
If I’m being honest with you guys, I’ve been drinking a whole lot of Ken Hitchcock Kool-Aid over the past few days. Since he was announced as the Oilers new head coach, I’ve been reading all kinds of great content and quotes about and from the man who felt inspired enough to come out of retirement to try and help his hometown team. I don’t know how much more the third-winningest coach in NHL history will be able to get out of this roster, but I’m all in on finding out. Call it the ‘new coach bump’ or whatever you want, there was some excitement in the air after the Oilers opened up the Hitchcock era with a win against San Jose and that’s something Oilers fans desperately deserve right now. What we also deserved was a win over the Ducks but some brutal decision making at the end of the game robbed us of a point. Coming into today’s game, we heard a lot about how the Ducks are dealing with some key injuries and, to me, that sounded like the perfect opportunity for the Oilers to take advantage of. Unfortunately, they mustn’t have gotten the memo.
Early on, the Ducks were the team that came out flying and the Oilers had a really hard time generating any kind of sustainable pressure, but that was offset because they were able to get the saves they needed to settle into the chess match. Both teams got their share of chances and were each benefitting from strong goaltending, which gave the game a feel of only being a mistake away a four point swing. That said, the Oilers were doing a good job of preventing the Ducks from getting secondary chances or even an initial shot at times, both hallmarks of the tight defensive structure demanded by Hitchcock, so it seemed like good news was in the cards. Heading into the third period with the game as tight as it was, it wasn’t overly surprising to see the teams trade goals and wind up in OT, though Nick Ritchie’s goal with 16 seconds on the clock was especially frustrating. Even so, I remained hopeful. The Oilers are a very good OT team and I figured they would still close things out even if it took a little bit longer than normal. Boy, was I wrong. Not only did the Oilers lose but they got beat by a set play and a Draisaitl flyby away from the puck gave Rickard Rakell all the chances he needed to knock the puck home. Brutal ending to what should have been two points.
The wrap.
THE BRIGHT SIDE
- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins got the Oilers on the board with a power play snipe that beat Gibson high over the blocker side. The Oilers entered the zone with speed and Connor McDavid found Nuge on the left side and he made no mistake of burying the shot and giving his team the lead.
- I’ve always got time for a McPoint.
- The Oilers needed to get another big game from Mikko Koskinen and they got exactly that. Right from the opening puck drop, Koskinen was dialled in and he shut the door any time his team needed him, especially early. From where I blog, the guys in front of Koskinen let him down tonight because he played well enough to get the win. Koskinen finished the night with 23 saves and a .920 save%.
- Big shout out to Kris Russell for saving that puck that was hanging onto the goal line from going in. Frankly, I was shocked that the Oilers were able to win a call against the Ducks considering how close that was so I wanted to make sure to give the man props for the quick reaction.
- Kevin Gravel had a really good night on the back and I thought that he calmed things down with the puck a lot. He’s not the kind of guy that will put up many points but he’s starting to use his size and speed to limit the space of the people he’s defending and it worked very well tonight.
- Pontus Aberg didn’t score against us!
- Anyone that played the ‘Identity Line’ drinking game got absolutely buckled today. But for the second straight game, that line was effective and was able to use their size to cause some mayhem in the offensive zone. I honestly liked how they played, but now I hope Hitch knows to never have them out in the final minute.
- The Oilers got a power play goal tonight and probably should have had two. They were very good on both of their chances even though they only ended up cashing in on one.
- Not to be outdone, the PK was perfect for the second straight game as they killed off both chances they faced.
THE FACE PALMERS
- Nick Ritchie scored his first goal of the season with only 16 seconds left in the game to tie it up and it was insanely frustrating for multiple reasons. Not only could the game have been over but Hitchcock decided that the Lucic-Brodziak-Kassian line was the trio he’d have out there to close things out.
- Richard Rakell’s OT goal frustrated me to no end. After he beat Draisaitl into the zone for a chance on net, Leon took a hard right turn into the corner and left Rakell all alone to hack away at the puck. Terrible defensive effort. Draisaitl also made a glaring mistake on the goal that got called back for the Ducks too, making this one of his poorer games of the year.
- If the Oilers are going to run with McDavid and Draisaitl on one line then they need to improve the quality of wingers for the second line. Cuddles-Nuge-Chiasson did not inspire today.
- I don’t know about you guys but I saw the Oilers passing up all kinds of quality shooting chances to try and make a pass, and it was driving me crazy. I really wish the boys would be more selfish sometimes.
- Cooper Marody needs to get sent down to Bakersfield ASAP because he only played 3:19 tonight and there is no point in having him here to play that little. He needs to be with the Condors.
- Only 38% in the faceoff circle for the Oilers tonight. There’s getting beat and there’s getting dominated and it’s not hard to figure out which this was.
- *sigh* #BeetCast coming up on my Twitter.
- I will not complain about the refs. I will scream into a pillow.
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST PERIOD
| TIME | TEAM | DETAILS | SCORE |
|---|---|---|---|
| No Scoring | |||
2ND PERIOD
| TIME | TEAM | DETAILS | SCORE |
|---|---|---|---|
| No Scoring | |||
3RD PERIOD
| TIME | TEAM | DETAILS | SCORE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 08:55 | Edmonton | PPG – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (6) ASST: Connor McDavid (19), Alex Chiasson (2) | 1-0 |
| 19:43 | Anaheim | Nick Ritchie (1) ASST: Rickard Rakell (11), Marcus Pettersson (3) | 1-1 |
OT PERIOD
| TIME | TEAM | DETAILS | SCORE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 00:14 | Anaheim | Rickard Rakell (4) ASST: Brandon Montour (9), Ryan Getzlaf (11) | 1-2 |
#GOODCONTENT
Looch is gonna need a whole case of spray cans.
— Nihilist Moxie's (@ThomsonCam) November 23, 2018
Hey. Now you're just making up stats.
— Réal? (@pwrcord) November 23, 2018
Anaheim really pushes the boundaries of the NHL’s interference rules every time they see McDavid.
— Matt Henderson (@Archaeologuy) November 23, 2018
— Alice Moran (@Alice_Moran) November 23, 2018
Beet-free for [ 0 ] game(s).
— Anthony Flynn (@anthonyjflynn) November 23, 2018
Talk to me, Twitter. Tweet at @OilersNation and @jsbmbaggedmilk for your chance to land in the Best of the Tweets.
BLACK FRIDAY
Coming up on Thursday night at midnight, our annual Black Friday collecting drops for a limited time only. We’ve got hats, a tee, hoodie, and toques and they’re pretty dope so you’ll definitely want to check it out. Every year, we sell out of all of these items so be sure to get to NationGear.ca as fast as you can if you want to score something to beautify your wardrobe.
Source: NHL, Official Game Page, 11/23/2018 – 4:45 pm MT
Triple playoff now. If you aren’t watching put it on
This game was tough to watch.
1. I hope mcdavid is sick.
2. Benning is terrible.
3. Draisaitl can wear the goat horns for his play.
4. Koskinen had a good game.
5. Why was the “IDENTITY” line on the ice with a minute left?
6. Get nuge a winger…Spooner is not the answer.
7. Really killed a nice afternoon beer buzz with that outcome.
Sports history right here. Fourth extra hole after a wild turnaround, my god. Blessing after the tire fire from the Oil
It is a game of golf set up to make money between to past their prime players. The game means nothing outside of bragging rights and money to the winner. Slow your jets on the sports history crap.
Its a totally new format and it was an absolutely epic battle. Two of the best to ever play. Guess you’re as salty about other sports as you are about hockey
Actually I love golf and get out at least once a week in the summer. I look forward to all the majors especially the Masters. I’m just not gullible enough to call a made for PPV event golf history. It was a f-ing dog and pony show.
You must think you’re on Tiger Nation. Check your URL.
Great chirp man
What did P.T. Barnum say?
Exactly. Oh the drama of two, past prime time multimillionaires charging a ppv for a meaningless match
Two guys putting over $10 million into charity is not meaningless.
If you think the charity was anything more than window dressing compared to the coin that was made (how much was bet on this game?) you are delusional.
The “Identity” line. Yup they carved out a real nice identity tonight as goats.
Wow!!! They had a really good game and then they had some bad luck and get scored on right at the end, with 16 seconds left and now it seams that to many fans want to jump all over their line. They lost and it sucks, but the team lost. If they can’t score more than one goal, then it is a team loss, not because of some bad luck at the end.
Phil and Tiger going to overtime. Hell of a match
Do you guys remember all those media “experts and insiders” that were hating on Koskinen?
Remember them? They said Talbot was the #1 and Chia overpaid Koskinen.
I wonder what they’re up to nowadays.
Who is Talbot.
Our franchise leader in Wins in a single season!
Three seasons ago. Is that you the best you have to hang your hat on?
If we are going to look back at the past I will take Grant Fuhr.
In 2003, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He won a total of five Stanley Cups and was a six time All-Star. In 2017 Fuhr was named one of the ‘100 Greatest NHL Players’ in history.
Thanks for playing.
Every stat in the game is run off the past you twat.
The guy who blow a 3 goal lead with 3+ minutes to go in game 6 of what would’ve been series clinching game.
He blew the Anaheim series, 3 goals in 3 mins and another in OT.
Just too inconsistent.
Tool
Yup outta get the Oil a 7th round return at the trade deadline.
A backup goalie.
Oh yeah, Koskinen has made me forgot about him.
Correction.. double overtime. Unreal
checking the game log and box stats after the game (because I obviously couldn’t watch it due to having a fulltime job), this is how I imagined the game went:
– “Anthems start”
After anthems
– Getzlaf says to Gibson: “Hey man! We’re gonna hangout with the fans and take some selfies and stuff. Hold the fort will ya? We’ll be back for the last 3 minutes of the game.”
Gibson: “Sure thing man! Taker easy! I got this.”
– inevitable (and unbelievably lucky) come back ensues.
#Becauseoilers
Hitchcock’s first coaching error, why does he put his third line out against the Duck’s first line with a minute to go?
Why are the Oilers so afraid to take a time out?
Take a time out and put your best defensive players out for the last minute not Lucic and Kassian.
Maybe Hitch didn’t take a time out because he was in a hurry to get to bed 🙂
He just might have put the 3rd line out to show them confidence, and to build their confidence. After all, they have played much better than lines 2 and 4 in both games, and i think they are going to be a major positive factor going forward.
It’s probably nice for a lot of those players to have a coach who is going to give you a chance to show what they have to offer, to the team. Todd didn’t do that.
It seemed to me, that Todd didn’t believe anyone was any good, if they weren’t Connor, Leon, Oscar, and Nuge. Maybe Hitch can bring them together to believe in each other, and in themselves.
So far, I like what he is doing.
I’m going to call this a 1/2 loss – 1/2 win.
One point is better than none.
Go forward boys. Keep working. It’s showing.
It’s a tough loss. Couldn’t clear the puck
Yeah that was a head-scratcher
Because third lines usually have that role. Not this one though.
He didn’t know their names last game. I’m sure learning their abilities takes even a bit longer. Hitch has to see for himself what guys have. it’s a fresh start for everyone and I think that’s a good thing.
This is one time in which hindsight is misplaced. THAT Oilers line WAS arguably the best for the entire game up to that point. They got scored on during a broken play (puck off the arse then lucky bounce/open net) 6 versus 5 in the last few seconds of the game. There was no coaching error. NOthing to see here except a coach putting faith in the line that deserved to be on the ice for the win.
Wake up call to Hitch – Oilers lack of decent depth >
Not anymore, we have Wideman now……oh wait
Point in every game in hitchcock era
It’s not a tough way to lose a game. It’s the Oiler way.
a must win in LA
The guy that should have been on the ice in the last minute was traded because the previous coach didn’t like him. In the next 2 weeks the Oilers will trade for another defensively aware centre…guaranteed.
Just when you think you have 2 points in the bank.
OUCH!!!
Seems like there will be a lot more 2-1 games for the rest of the season. Defensive lapses like the one Leon had in OT will be much more costly.
Brodziak should’ve put the game away.
It’s actually quite amazing that we are a quarter way into the season and the Oilers still have virtually no scoring from the D or 2nd line down…yet we are somehow .500ish . Imagine if or when we get a full team of guys chipping in from time-to-time
The boys are bound to come back tomorrow, hopefully with a better performance in the face-off dot.
Sadly, this game ended like an Alfred Hitchcock result rather than a Ken Hitchcock result. It was an eerily spooky game ending script for ‘The Birds’ of Anaheim against the Oilers of Edmonton.
Same old story…. could only score one friggin goal!!! Looked like McDavid and Dria were hung over. Wasn’t there best effort.Although, the 93/97 goal was a good one.Also Oilers don’t play their best against the trap.
The Trap— easily the worst thing to ever happen to hockey. For that I will hate the New Jersey Devils forever
No face palm for Brodziak missing an open net they would’ve put the game away? Time to put away the kook-aid, Looch could’ve buried that chance (maybe).
Hopefully Draisaitl learned something today.
That looked like a set play, they had in mind if opportunity knocked, and I think that caught Drai totally off guard. I wasnt happy with the ducks goal to tie it up Drai got caught out there totally out of gas and that weak back check put the ducks back in it. Does Hitch know how to swear in German, I am sure Drai must have got an earful later on
According to coach Carlyle in his post game interview, the play in overtime was a set play recommended by Dallas Eakins – ouch!
It did not look like the swarm.
Out of gas? It was 14 seconds in? Soft play by a player who gets paid to know better and play better. Brutal !
Bag skate that floater!
Beat LA on Sunday, get 5 of 6 points, and it’s been a good trip! Move past this game!
You gave a beat up Anaheim team 2 points while only putting 1 point in your pocket…5/6 points is nice BUT you just gift wrapped 2 points to a team that is ahead of you..these little swings add up at the end of the year.
5 points out of 6 games is good for a mediocre team. I think they are better then that and I think the team deserves better. Hopefully they can beat LA. Koskinen in net again?
Exactly. Its done…move on.
Anaheim has always been a thorn in the Oilers side for years now. Ruminating on this loss will not help. I am glad that Hitch was so quick to downplay the obvious negative in that game…the team needs that ability to learn and move on quickly from these things.
Hitch can use that game to tweak other elements of their game in crunch time against big, heavy, interfering (borderline cheating) teams.
5 out of 6 points on this road trip is a win…period.
well…we need to overcome these final minutes vs Anaheim. This is the 3rd straight game that has been forced to OT because we can’t hold them down when in the final minute
Don’t forget giving up three goals in the final few minutes of a playoff game.
That still makes me feel sick even just thinking about it.
Nothing wrong with 3 out of 4 points in the Hitch era.
Still have a chance to take five of six. Frustrating ending today though.
Hitch me up to that wagon!!
It will take a while to completely remove their old bad habits. Also, that total defensive shell in the last 7 minutes never works! Just keep doing what you did ti get the lead you had. Old habits die hard but I have faith in Hitch changing them game by game
Frustrating way to lose a game, but at least we got a point. Have two games in hand on a lot of the teams in the division and the boys need to make hay! Make those games in hand mean something! #effkesler (my other post didn’t go through because of the explicit)
Well at least they got the collapse in the final seconds of a period/game demonstration out of the way in a hurry
Well – yeah the identity line didn’t work out at the end. But. Stick with it. Hard to cultivate a team when 98% of the go to stuff is attached to McD. It’s a part of playing for each other.
Just wish we could have started the Hitch effect 3 years ago.
It would now have been time to move on, with a whole lot of foundation in place.
We’ve wasted a lot of time.
You’re insinuating that Todd did NOTHING in his first 2 years here.
Not that much that is gonna stick for the future.
I have always thought a very over rated coach, even when they were winning two seasons ago.
Well, if he did, what did they look like before that?